


Lantern Light

by jethisis



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Ending, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26182513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jethisis/pseuds/jethisis
Summary: The night before Zuko's coronation, the gang spends the night at the palace. Wanting to talk to Zuko after what happened during the battle  with Azula, Katara finds him having a nightmare, and he finds comfort in her.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 112





	Lantern Light

Katara's eyes opened wide as she was abruptly woken from nightmare with a pounding heart and a sense of panic. She sucked in a breath as she shot up from bed while turning her head back and forth in a wild manner as she looked around the dim room, and found herself alone. Her tan skin was covered in a thin coat of sweat, which she flicked off with a brush of her hand and the use of her bending as she tried to catch her breath. Her nightgown was drenched and Katara pushed off her cover while slipping her legs out of bed. Her bare feet pressing against the cold, wooden planks, and Katara's palms pressed into her eyes as she took several, slow deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

It was days after Sozin's comet, and the night before Zuko's coronation, but every night since the battle, Katara had nightmares of him; Zuko sprinting across the arena to protect Katara from Azula's lightning, only to be awoken when his body collapse to the hard ground. Her heart ached every time she had awoke, remembering Zuko's body lying on the ground, barely clinging to life for Katara's sake, and each time, she woke in a cold sweat.

_Zuko_.

A sigh left her lips as she stared into the darkness of her hands, her anxiety twisting and tying itself into a knot in her stomach. After Zuko helped Katara track down the man who murdered her mother, she was sure the building tensity between them would've faded, but now it was more apparent then ever, and altered into something different. Everytime they were together, a strange hush would always hang over him, whether they were planning for his celebration, tending to his lightning-struck heart, or just a quiet passing down the great hall. Since taking the blast of lightning through his chest, Katara would find his amber gaze fixated on her, though when she tried to talk to him, the Firelord always seemed to have nothing to say, unless his heart ached and was palpitating.

She fumbled in the darkness to find the lantern and bringing a dim light to the room. *I hope he's okay.* Katara thought to herself as she tried to calm her building panic while rising from the bed; the night before, Zuko had abruptly woken her with pains in his chest. Though another healer from the Northern Water Tribe was to take her place and tend to the new Firelord's wounds, she couldn't help but worry. After replacing her sweat stained gown for one with a lighter fabric, she glimpsed towards her closed door and was unable to fight her anxiety any longer. Katara knew if she saw him, even for a split second, her panic would dissolve and ease the worries her nightmares brought. She slipped on a sheer gown, and flipped her long brown hair over top of it. With quiet steps, Katara opened her door and slipped outside, heading down the hall.

Zuko's bedroom was only a few doors down, and left a crack open just in case he needed assistance in the dead of night. Katara dared to push it open, moving slowly so the door wouldn't creak. She felt almost nervous that he wouldn't be inside as her head peaked through the opening into the dimly lit room. Two lanterns hung against the wall, giving the room a golden glow, and in the center of the room was Zuko's bed, draped in delicate red silk with matching nightstands on each side, and on the left side of the bed, the new Firelord slept uneasily.

Zuko seemed stuck within his own nightmare, tossing and turning, his covers kicked off, and his bare chest was wrapped in a tight gauze that hugged around his torso and over his shoulder. His tousled, black hair was a knotted mess from rolling left and right in his sleep, and his teeth were gritting while his breathing became more ragged. Katara moved in slowly at the sound of his mumbling, and the closer she got, she heard his voice mumble out, calling for her weakly. "Katara." Her heart skipped a beat at the pained sound of her name passing by his lips, but Zuko's body grew tense and his eyes were clenching shut.

Suddenly, Zuko jolted violently from sleep, and shot up from bed while clutching his chest in pain. His breathing was ragged, and sounded more as a choking gasp as his head bowed forward, veiling his face from the agony he was feeling.

"Zuko?" Katara called from the door, pushing it open suddenly and rushing in.

His head lifted weakly, and his scarred eye dared to open through the crack of his hair, watching her silhouette rush to his side through the slit of an eyelash. "Katar-" his words were cut short as his fingers dug in further to his aching chest, silently begging for the pain to stop as his body curled tighter into itself.

She knelt on the bed by his side, her thigh pressed against his and her hand clasping his shoulder. "Lie down." She insisted, but didn't fall back without Katara easing him onto the mattress once more. Her hands loosened the gauze in a frantic, dragging it down to his stomach while forcing his clutching hand away from his aching heart. Her hands quickly pulled the white bandage down his shoulder and stomach until the scar was exposed; dull red and growing darker in the centre, it almost appeared healed, though Katara knew the organs within were scarred and damaged.

As one hand placed against his heart, finding its pulse growing weaker at each beat, her other hand extended toward the basin by his bed. With a gentle flick, Katara pulled forth a stream of water, pushing the bobbing fluid to her other hand to envelope her fingers and palm, separating their flesh with a millimetre of water. It warmed around her hand suddenly, growing hotter as it began to glow, and Katara could feel the power of healing begin to flood through her veins. Carefully, she focused her energy on the tips of her fingers that tended to the Zuko's newest scar.

"Where does it hurt most?" She asked in a quiet tone, trying her best to stay calm.

Zuko's hand was clenched tight as it fought through the sharp pain, but lowered away as the gentle glowing water began to sooth his pain. "A little lower." He instructed, and Katara followed his guiding words, the tips of her coated fingers dragging along his skin, lowering to where the pain was, along the left side of his chest, where his heart was beating its strongest. She could feel it's scars along the tissue of the heart, and its rhythm palpitating and missing beats here and there, though they were coming closer and closer together. She took a slow, deep breath, trying to align the rhythms of their hearts, feeling its pulse beginning to follow her own beat. As the pain began to subside, Zuko's amber opened, trying to meet Katara's ocean-blue gaze as she mended him. "What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice taking a softer tone.

Katara's eyes focused on the scar of his chest, the tender red flesh almost glowing at her touch as she focused the water through the skin and to the rigid scratches along the chambers of Zuko's heart. "I had a nightmare and-." She spoke in a sheepish way though she was glad for her abrupt awakening to help Zuko. The rhythm of his heart began to quicken beneath her touch, his eyes never pulling away while Katara lost herself in his fiery gaze; Zuko always had a strange way of making Katara flush when their eyes met for too long. "And... I was worried about you."

The corner of the Firelord's lips curled into a smile of relief, though Katara couldn't tell if it was from her easing his pain, or her own paranoia. "Well, I'm glad you were." The air hung quiet for a moment as Katara worked on tending to Zuko's heart, but he watched with some curiosity as her palm pressed into his chest. "What was your nightmare about?" He asked, leaning up slightly on his forearms to better speak to the water bender, his head tilting and his tousled hair falling to the side.

A sigh left Katara's lips, looking down at her handy work and sprawling her fingers wide against his red flesh. "The same thing yours was, I guess." She said with some simplicity, feeling somewhat at fault for Zuko's injured chest. However, she would feel the liquid begin to thin out very slowly as the water dissolved into the crevices of his heart while soothing it. "It's hard not to think about it."

"You're telling me." He said with some dismay, clearly troubled by what had happened to him. His one hand rose to rub a hand through his messy black hair, and when Katara's blue eyes glimpsed up to meet his again, her own heart skipped a beat and felt his follow her lead. Zuko's eyes are almost glowing in the dim light, warm and gentle like the soft flame of a candle. "I'm just glad Azula didn't hurt you."

_She did though,_ Katara thought to herself, though she didn't dare say it aloud.

She could feel her cheeks beginning to flush with a gentle heat, becoming more and more lost in his amber gaze. She sucked in a silent breath, feeling it catch in her throat while trying to calm the butterflies that began to stir and flutter in her stomach, blooming from their cocoons. The center of her palm felt as though it were on fire as Zuko's heart's rhythm grew stronger and faster, his eyes burning against hers, refusing to pull away, as though he were somewhere within her ocean blue eyes. Zuko's face began to turn the warm hue of pink, and offered her a nervous smile that Katara couldn't help but find charming, and her own shyly spread against her lips.

She felt as though she would melt away if she stared into his golden gaze, and Katara's eyes pulled back and drifted down to his wound in a sheepish manner. The last of the water had dissolved away without her noticing, and her palm pressed flat against Zuko's wide scar, feeling steady heartbeat quicken as he realized himself nothing was separating Katara's slender hand from his skin.

"We should bandage you up." She said, her voice wavering nervously, her hand pulling back and fumbling with the gauze against his waist, trying to remove it all finally. She bit at the inside of her bottom lip, trying to stop her cheeks from turning a deep shade of scarlet.

Zuko's head nodded in agreement, his eyes veiled by his bangs, but Katara could see the flush of red spreading over his face. "Yeah, we should." He said awkwardly finally sitting upwards and crossing his legs.

Zuko's torso came much closer to Katara's side, and his own hands trying to fumble with the loosening bandage that covered himself. Every so often, their fingers would touch, only for both of them to flinch back in embarrassment. As Katara tossed the old gauze to the floor, she reached into his nightstand, knowing an extra roll was kept just in case. Zuko held out his arms as Katara instructed many times before, and as she lifted the gauze, her hands began to tremble, suddenly embarrassed to be touching Zuko's bare chest once more.

Katara started at his shoulder, crossing the gauze over his chest, around his back, covering the bleeding red splotch that pressed against his chest, feeling at some fault for the damage that was caused. His heart would always need more work, perhaps forever if not constantly monitored. She was thankful for Toph, who could hear the palpitations before they became a problem, but Katara couldn't help but fret and worry over it. As her fingers worked, Katara wondered to herself why Zuko would've taken the fall for her, a question that burned on her tongue for the past several days. It felt almost impossible to bring up to him, every time she tried, she'd freeze up under his golden gaze, and brush it off as nothing. Katara actively tried not to think of it, but constantly, it itched at the back of her of her skull, like a bad bug bite, and kept her up late at night.

As she began to wrap the gauze around the Firelord's torso, her voice broke the still silence. "Zuko?" Katara asked quietly, almost timid to bring about her question. His brow rose, as if waiting for her to ask. She froze for a moment, staring into his eyes as she spoke, just above a whisper. "Why... did you jump in front of me?" Her voice cracked nervously as she asked.

His flush began to spread down his neck as his eyes pulled away, staring down in his lap as if to avoid answering.

A sigh of confusion mixed with exhaustion left her lips as she continued to wrap his torso. "I mean, I'm grateful you did... But it was reckless..."Her caring nature came out more as a scold with her hands focused on tightly wrapping the gauze around his rib cage. "You had me really worried, Zuko... And you even told Aang to let it flow through your stomach." As the gauze came to an end, she set clip fasteners beneath a layer against his chest to keep it from slipping out. "And to not let it pass through your heart."

Before Katara could pull back her hand, Zuko's lifted and pressed Katara's palm against the gauze that covered his chest, lifting it higher towards his pounding heart. Katara could feel its steady beat beneath the bandage, growing stronger with each thump. A whisful gaze filled his eyes, glimmering gently like the soft glow of the lanterns. Zuko sucked in a slow before mumbling. "It didn't."

Katara's eyes widened with surprise at his words, her jaw dropping slightly as she stared into the Zuko's golden gaze, which silently plead to her. Her bottom lip quivered as her own heart skipped a beat. Her palms became clammy as they rested against the gauze, and felt Zuko's pulse pick up with his earnest stare. "What are you saying?" She asked in a sheepish manner, her voice gentle as her breath caught in her throat.

Zuko's fingers wrapped around Katara's hand and squeezed it gently as he held it to his chest. "Katara..." While staring into his amber, his other rose, and brushed a stray hair away from her blushing face. As if instinctive, Katara leaned into the hand which cupped her red burning face, his thumb softly tracing along the round curve of her cheekbone. "I know this might be my only chance, but-" He swallowed nervously as his head began to bow, as if struggling to find the next words.

"Zuko?" She blinked once, but her lips began to curl into a smile, anticipating his next move.

"I-" He mumbled in a low tone as his golden eye peaked through the cracks of his hair. He began to lean in, moving slowly at first to give the water bender time to pull away or change her mind. Katara's stomach swelled and stirred with butterflies of excitement as her eyes fluttered shut, following Zuko's lead as she began to inch closer. Her lips spread into a smile as she anticipated to meet his, feeling almost magnetically attracted to the fire bender, despite their opposites. Seconds felt like minutes as he came closer and closer. Zuko's nose nudged against the side of her own and his warm, nervous breath brushing against her skin, and for a moment, he hesitated. "I-"

His quiet mumble was cut short at the caress of Katara's lips. His heart quickened beneath Katara's hand while her own pounded in her ears. Zuko's hand drifted further along her neck until his fingers twined themselves in her scalp to keep her close. Fireworks rose up and exploded within her stomach, and Katara felt breathless at the tender touch of his parted lips. Her hand rested against his shoulder, almost afraid he'd pull away, and Katara couldn't help but let her lips toy and trace along his, kissing him once, twice, over and over.

As he pulled back, the room grew darker as the night drifted on and the lanterns began to dim away. Zuko's cheeks were a deep maroon, and his golden eyes drifted downwards, as if suddenly to shy. His forehead pressed against Katara's, unwilling to separate from her, and the pair of them were left breathless. Katara could feel the wild pounding in Zuko's chest, beating in time with one another, and his lips were beginning to spread into a soft smile as he took a slow breath, as if trying to compose himself. "Sorry." He murmured, his hand leaving her scalp and his fingers slowly caressing down her neck.

Katara's own cheeks flushed a deep red as she took a deep breath. "Don't be." She said in a hush manner, feeling her own smile beginning to spread against her lips as her sea blue eyes met Zuko's amber gaze. She felt as though she were in a dream as the Firelord took Katara's hand away from his chest and held it in her lap. She bowed her head in an attempt to hide it, but Zuko's forehead nudged her upwards, trying to keep her from veiling her wistful smile, and a happy sigh fell from his parting lips. "I just... I never knew." She whispered softly, her breath cascading along his lips.

Zuko couldn't fight the wide, toothy grin that spread across his mouth as his forehead finally pulled back, his thumb gently rubbing against hers. "I didn't think you'd care." He admitted in a somber way. "And there's so much going on, this might be my only chance."

Katara blinked once, but felt her smile growing wide against her rosy cheeks. She felt speechless as her head lifted and met his eyes once more, and beneath his warm, tender gaze, Katara felt as though she were melting. She moved closer along the bed so her thigh pressed into his crossed legs and up at the Firelord, and squeezed his hand. "I hope you know I do."

Zuko nodded his head, while his other guided Katara's face back towards his, his pursed lips meeting hers once again. Katara's hand looped around his shoulders and held the back of his neck to keep him close, while Zuko's carefully skimmed down her shoulder and along her bicep, and then carefully around her back. As his mouth focused on her bottom lip, Zuko pulled Katara's body against his, rolling her over himself until the Waterbender lied to his right, and the lengths of there bodies pressed against one another. His touch was gentle as his hand left their twine and found it's way to Katara's neck, cupping the back of it to keep her close and gently twisting her baby hairs around his fingers, making Katara's skin goose-bumped. Her hand drifted back to his chest, feeling its gentle rhythm in the center of her palm, while her other clenched his shoulder.

It felt like hours when the two finally stopped, timidly pulling away, as if to second guess it. Zuko and Katara left in a tangle of limbs clinging to one another, and refusing to let go, their faces on and the air of them breathless. Fatigue passed over Katara, barely able to keep her eyes open any longer by the time the lanterns had finally burned out, and swallowed the pair in darkness. As a stifled yawn passed by her lips, a wordless agreement passed between them as Zuko free'd his arm from Katara's waist, and pulled the blanket up and over their torso's. His other hand pulled her near, resting her head against the crook of his chin and chest. The rise and fall of their chests synchronized as Zuko's fingers lazily twisted Katara's hair around themselves.

"Do you think you could stay a few extra days?" He mumbled, sounding as though he were falling asleep. "I don't want you to leave."

A sigh of happiness came out more as a swoon, feeling as though she were melting away in the warmth of Zuko's grasp. In the darkness, Katara couldn't find the wide grin that spread against her lips at his invitation; since she couldn't leave his bed, Katara wasn't sure how she was suppose to leave his side. Katara's arm looped around his waist as she nuzzled closer into the crook of Zuko's neck while softly kissing just beneath his earlobe. Her calf twisted around his, keeping her body pressed against his, and murmured softly before drifting off to a deep, comfortable slumber.

"I'll stay."


End file.
